'97 Riv. Lower Control Arms -- Need Bushings, Do RP19265 & RP19266 Fit..or?

I've read all the threads on this problem including the ones which recommend a RAV4 bushing but none seem to decisively confirm success using the bushings suggested.

I contacted rareparts.com and they do have both the vertical and horizontal bushings which they THINK will fit my control-arms.  They were very helpful and informed me that the bushings are: RP19265 (made by Mcquay Norris) and RP19266 (made by Moog and Raybestos chassis).  Please correct me if I'm wrong but I take it that these part numbers would also be applicable for bushings of the same spec. manufactured by other companies as well and I wonder if anyone here can confirm success at installing these bushings in a '97 Riviera control-arm?  (The vertical one is listed as proper fitment for '95-'97 Riviera and '95-'96 Olds Aurora; I seem to recall reading that the Aurora used the same control-arms as the Riv BUT I thought the Riv. only used these in the single model-year of 1997 so this is a tad confusing.)

I know many of you have a great deal of miles on your Rivieras so props to you; in my case the car -- although it is a little rough with many "grandpa-bruises" -- only has 65k!! original miles so what a great shame it would be if it is "mechanically totalled" for want of a couple of $10 bushings. (I believe these bushings can be fabricated with a certain durometer of polyurethane but I lack both the expertise as well as garage-space, floor-jacks, etc.)

Here are the dimensions according to the Rare-Parts website in case anyone can confirm from this that they will fit:
RP19265:
Bushing #1 Length  2.162
Bushing #1 I.D. 0.564
Bushing #1 Small O.D 2.016
Bushing #1 Large O.D.  2.060
Bushing #1 Shell Length  1.045
("Comment: Vertical Mount; 2.011 " O.D.)

RP19266:
Bushing #1 Length  2.355
Bushing #1 I.D. 0.561
Bushing #1 Small O.D.  1.842

THANKS!

Hello! I've just been to hell and back doing exactly what you've been trying to do for my 97, trying to use bushings that should supposedly fit, and I finally found all of my pieces and took it to the mechanic a few weeks ago.

They didn't actually all fit...

But! We did find on the Replacements website some steel arms I believe for the '96 year that actually DO fit the 97 aluminum suspension, so for 160 bucks with 2 new hubs included, it all bolted right up and seems to work perfectly almost a month later. To save you a huge hassle, it is what I recommend, however if you have the time and money to pay someone to try several bushings (we tried over 13 different sizes) then go ahead and go that route and post those results.

Well that sounds GREAT, especially that you get both control-arms with hubs for $160 (although I don't need the hubs.) Thanks SO MUCH for replying -- I think I remember seeing your log-in name in some other threads on here -- I would think this will help MANY people and save many 97 Rivs from going to the junker.

Please tell me, Did they bolt right in and fit properly without any modifications -- or imperfect clearances -- at their mounting points?

One other thing, I am unfamiliar with the website in the screenshot you posted and when I google "Replacement part number 2697-02782272" it is other websites which come up. I take it the actual manufacturer and website is called "Replacement" and I want to order from the same company where you got your parts so would you mind posting a link?

Thanks again and enjoy your Riv!

Yeah I think the website is called Replacements, I'll have to check. Although if you just Google "97 Riviera control arms" it's a few clicks down and the site looks exactly like the screenshot. Dumb description, but I saw that page months ago and was like "ehh it's probably not the right one because it looks way newer" but they fit almost PERFECTLY! I'll look it up and try to find the link. But yeah very surprised after all this time I could've just got this last summer... Oh well, all good now!

Edit: Found it!

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1997/buick/riviera/suspension/control_arm.html?brand=replacement&rp=control_arm_wheel_hub_ball_joint_kit

Ah, ok, yes, I did see that site in my initial search. They also have the control-arms -- but in aluminum like the OEM -- from Mevotech BUT although their picture of the left one has the correct vertical bushing their pic of the right one shows the two horizontal bushings which was the configuration of later years. Very strange. I'd rather have aluminum LCAs (and I don't need the wheel hubs) so maybe I'll call and see if I can confirm which configuration they have.

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1997/buick/riviera/suspension/control_arm.html?brand=mevotech

So it was definitely partsgeek.com where you bought them?

Cheers!

I'm almost 100% sure those aluminum ones will be for the 98+ models, so I would just order the steel ones. Gotta keep in mind they only make those 97 arms for a few months basically, and it's been 25 years, they just don't exist anymore aside from a rare junkyard find and even then they're just as old and rotted. My car doesn't really know the difference of the new steel ones since the geometry is the same, so an extra few pounds ain't a big deal. If it is, then get lighter wheels and make up for it there

Yup. Right on all counts. I shall order the stamped-steel Replacement brand ones (and I'll post here to confirm once they are finally installed).

Good luck! Hope nothing else needs fixed lol. When mine was up in the air we realized I needed new brakes and tie rods... Turned $400 job into $800 real quick

Who makes these control arms? What bushings do they use? Mevotech doesn't have the best reputation. As far as I can tell they make cheap, low end parts for cars that are in their last year of service. If that's you, it's exactly what you want, but if you plan to keep the car for years and want to do this job once and be good for another twenty years, Mevotech isn't the brand to go with.

Well I believe the control-arms are made by a company called "Replacement," which is a little confusing. I have no idea how good they are -- or how good the bushings they use might be -- but after MUCH searching and reading of forums it seems that these are THE ONLY LCAs available which are confirmed to fit the "orphan-year" 1997 Riviera so unless someone can provide some bushing part-numbers which they can confirm with CERTAINTY fit, I am going to go with them. There may actually be no other choice.

I see your Riv is the '97, Assuming you had to deal with worn control-arm bushings, How did you solve the parts-unavailability issue? (I believe the bushings can be made from polyurethane of an appropriate durometer but I cannot take-on that task.)

I haven't solved the problem at all. I've got another car with the suspension completely removed, one at a time is enough. I've been shopping for a front subframe from a 98 or 99 though.

What is different about the 1997 subframe? Most parts catalogs list the control arms fitting 1997-1999 models

Others may be able to answer your question more fully but the '97 Lower Control Arms have one horizontal and one vertical bushing so the accordingly the '97 subframe has one horizontal and one vertical mounting point to accept those bushings. This is why Jack the R and others install later subframes on their '97s, in order to find LCAs as the '97 "orphan-year" LCAs are no longer available. As far as I know, all the catalogues -- including Rock Auto -- which list the '97 as taking the same LCAs as the '98 and '99 are simply, wrong.

I knew the 95-96’s had a vertical and a horizontal bushing but wasnt aware the 97 was the same. On my ‘95 i carefully cut off the bracket and welded it back on horizontal. I run 98+99 control arms. If you have someone who can weld it is not a difficult job if you have access to a lift. Wouldnt want to do it on the ground. The car rides perfect with the new arms. I also have a couple parts cars so I had backup cradles if something went wrong. Dont want to see someone end up with a headache on something thats a daily driver.

I have pics of it on page 4 here:
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t9364p75-riv-finally-back-on-the-road#189203

ward-man wrote:

Yup. Right on all counts. I shall order the stamped-steel Replacement brand ones (and I'll post here to confirm once they are finally installed).

So Ward-man, did they work?

Also, I realize it's been a decade since I was immersed in this stuff but I'd swear those geniuses basically made every year an orphan. Steel arms with parallel bushings, steel arms with perpendicular bushings and then the same thing all over again with the aluminum arms. I think the partial-year '99s were the only carryover...

ward-man wrote:

This is why Jack the R and others install later subframes on their '97s,

I have not done that yet, but it's the way I'd like to go. Better still, find a place that would cast new bushings out of polygraphite.

Yes, they did work!  I had meant to confirm that here in case anyone else was considering ordering the "Replacement" parts.  I should have snapped a pic of the LCAs to post but as I did not, suffice to say that I was actually quite impressed with the way they looked, ESPECIALLY for the price.  Sure they are stamped-steel but the shape is really nice and with the black paint (or powder-coating?) they are not cheap looking at all.  I have no idea whether the bushings they come with are going to stand the test of time but one thing is, now that the original, aluminum LCAs are off the car if I were going to keep it I would remove the old bushings and pour-in polyurethane ones and source new ball-joints.  That said, for the unbelievably low price of these a new complete set may be competitive with the price of a good set of ball-joints alone.

Many thanks to Spacecowboy067!

ward-man wrote:

Yes, they did work!  I had meant to confirm that here in case anyone else was considering ordering the "Replacement" parts.  I should have snapped a pic of the LCAs to post but as I did not, suffice to say that I was actually quite impressed with the way they looked, ESPECIALLY for the price.  Sure they are stamped-steel but the shape is really nice and with the black paint (or powder-coating?) they are not cheap looking at all.  I have no idea whether the bushings they come with are going to stand the test of time but one thing is, now that the original, aluminum LCAs are off the car if I were going to keep it I would remove the old bushings and pour-in polyurethane ones and source new ball-joints.  That said, for the unbelievably low price of these a new complete set may be competitive with the price of a good set of ball-joints alone.

Many thanks to Spacecowboy067!

No worries, glad they worked for you as well. I don't expect them to last the next 20 years or anything like OEM but it sure feels good to just have the car back on the road for a while

ward-man wrote:

Yes, they did work!  I had meant to confirm that here in case anyone else was considering ordering the "Replacement" parts.

Thanks for the confirmation. I've always worried about the bushings & never even thought about the ball joints - DUH. As for the quality for the price, as long as the front end can still take an alignment (I assume you'll be getting one, 80>) I would hope that the simple A-arms (and NOW replaceable bushings) would be more reliable than the incredibly low-priced-but-high-complexity Hub/Bearing/ABS units!

So there was no problem with the fitment to the frame-brackets?
It's amazing that we're just now finding out that they kept the frame-brackets the same for both the steel & aluminum arms... I also thank Luis & gave him a "+" on his post with that link. I think I'm gonna' buy a pair just on general principle.

EDIT: Ya' know what's even wilder? We've seen a bunch of websites' inventory-software give us phony 1997 fitment with 98-99 arms, but I just went back to PartsGeek and they don't list ANY arms for the '96... I'm wondering if the General did not actually keep the geometry the same when switching from perpendicular steel to perpendicular aluminum, and this company actually made these arms up just for the '97 problem!?!

Well, I was not present when my mechanic installed the LCAs but he indicated that they fit without issue and I did subsequently get a wheel-alignment which seems to be fine. I'm not sure if "Replacement" made these LCAs to fill the void for our '97 "orphan-year" Rivs but given the unbelievably low price, it sure seems like they are "blowing them out." I recall that the OEM LCAs -- when they were still available (although of course they were aluminum) cost over $400 each!!!! And here is this company selling a kit with L and R LCAs complete with bushings and ball-joints AND two complete wheel hub assemblies for $159 with free shipping? I just hope the word is out amongst mechanics because I wonder how many '97 Rivs have been deemed "mechanically totalled" and scrapped by their very sad owners due to the supposed unavailability of LCAs? Not that they would but I almost feel like GM ought to put out some kind of service bulletin on this so their service-departments -- and anyone who calls the parts department for LCAs or LCA bushings -- would be advised that an eminently inexpensive solution exists.